£20,000 Compensation for a Proximal Fractured Humerus

Fractured humerus

In this case study, we take a look at a successful compensation claim for a fractured humerus. The person claiming compensation for a proximal humerus fracture was a 60-year-old woman, who took a bad fall in the entrance to a large high street retail store. The flooring in the entrance was faulty, and this caused the heel of her shoe to become stuck. This pitched her forwards, down a flight of steps.

She was taken to the hospital and examined. Initially, she was diagnosed with nothing more than a fractured shoulder. Still in significant pain, she visited a fracture clinic the next day, when it was found that she actually had a humerus fracture. One so severe that she had to have shoulder surgery as part of the recovery process.

Following the legal claims process, she was finally awarded a total of £20,000 in compensation for her injuries.

Slips, Trips, And Falls

In elderly people, proximal humerus fracture treatment is far from straightforward. However, slips, trips and falls are very common in the UK, especially amongst the elderly. This means that despite the treatment being complex when it comes to treating a fractured humerus NHS doctors have plenty of experience.

Statistics published by the UK Health & Safety Executive for 2017, show that slips, trips and falls were the second most common accident in the workplace. Just over 110,000 people suffered a slip, trip or fall at work. Or as in the case of this victim, as a member of public entering a privately-operated place of work.

Details of The Proximal Humerus Fracture

In this particular case, the shoulder injury was extremely serious with the medical condition being exacerbated by the age of the patient.

With the original injury being missed initially and left for an extra day without treatment, the shock and trauma to the patient were also severe.

Doctor’s discovered that it would take extensive corrective surgery to begin rebuilding the shoulder into a state that it could start to repair itself.

Humerus Fracture Shoulder Surgery

The initial treatment required fractured humerus surgery to fit surgical fixings and a philos plate. This required multiple surgeries to achieve, and for the duration of the treatment, the patient had to stay in hospital as an in-patient.

It took continuous examinations over a 4-month period before doctors could be entirely sure that the injury had begun to heal. A full bone repair was not confirmed until 12 months later. During almost the entire 12-month recovery period she was forced to wear a fractured humerus sling. Regaining basic functionality of the shoulder needed physiotherapy and fractured humerus exercises.

The Allegation and Establishing Liability

In this case, the answer to the question how long does it take to recover from a broken humerus? was almost 12 months. Due to the extensive injury and the age of the patient, humerus fracture healing time was much longer than normal. During this time, the victim was unable to manage her own housework and carry out normal day to day activities. Her husband had his own medical condition which prevented him from taking up the slack, so the victim was forced to hire in help. A broken humerus bone in elderly people is a serious dilapidating injury.

The settlement for damages needed to take this expense into consideration, as well as the general pain, trauma and stress caused by the injury itself.

What Did the Compensation Settlement Include?

The retail store admitted full liability for the accident. However, it was not until a medical professional could make a full prognosis of the injuries at a later stage, that a full compensation pay-out could be made. Initially, an interim payment of £4,000 was made in the short-term. Once a period of proximal humerus fracture healing time had passed, it was possible to calculate a final settlement of £20,000 which covered:

General damages for the pain, suffering and trauma caused by the physical injury.

Special damage to cover the cost of having to hire in-home help to undertake day to day tasks.

Medical costs such as medication and physiotherapy as the victim needed a course of humerus fracture recovery exercises to regain functionality of the shoulder.

All costs associated with making the compensation claim.

No Win No Fee Solicitors

This specific case is a good example of how for some people, No Win No Fee solicitors are the only viable option for making a compensation claim. The victim received treatment which took almost an entire year, and during this time they would have had to find the money to pay their own legal fees if they had not engaged a legal firm under a No Win No Fee agreement.

It was not until almost 12 months later when the victim received the full £20,000 damages payment that they had to pay their solicitors anything at all. And had the solicitor not successfully made a claim, the victim would have paid nothing.

Contact Legal Expert Today

If you have recently been the victim of an accident that has resulted in a personal injury such as a broken humerus, then you owe it to yourself to give us a call right now on 0800 073 8804. Once we have learned the details of your case it is likely we will offer to take it on under a No Win No Fee agreement. This means you won’t need to pay us anything at all unless we actually win you damages.